DOJ orders the AZC to Register as a Foreign Agent

"Attached hereto is the entire file relating to the American Zionist
Council and our efforts to obtain its
registration under the terms of the Foreign Agents Registration Act..."

Documents

In the
early 1960's Israel funneled $5 million (more than $35 million in
today's dollars) into US propaganda
and lobbying operations. The funds were
channeled via the quasi governmental Jewish Agency's
New York office into
an Israel lobby umbrella group, the American Zionist Council. Senate Foreign Relations Committee
investigations and hearings documented funding flows, propaganda, and
public relations efforts and put them into therecord. But the
true fate of the American Zionist Council was never known, except
that its major functions were visibly shut down and shifted over to
a former AZC unit known as the "Kenen Committee," called the American Israel Public
Affairs Committee (or AIPAC) in the late 1960's. The following
chronology provides links to
images of original Department of Justice case files
released on June 10, 2008under a Freedom of
Information Act filing.

Assistant Attorney General
and Director of the Internal Security Division J. WalterYeagley
notifiesAttorney
General
Robert F. Kennedy "...we are soliciting
next week the registration of the American
Zionist Council under the Foreign Agents Registration Act...You
may be aware that the American Zionist Council is composed of
representatives of the various Zionist organizations in the
United States including the Zionist Organization of America."

Nathan B. Lenvin, head of
the FARA section, memo to
central files,
about a meeting with Jewish
Agency representative Maurice M. Boukstein
who asks about FARA
applicability to AZC.
"...in his view it was doubtful that any great protest would be
made since in the discussions he has had with various officials
connected both with the Zionist Council and the Jewish Agency he
had made it clear in his view an agency relationship would
result which may require registration.'"

Edwin Guthman letter to
Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and Deputy
Attorney General Nicholas
Katzenbach about future AZC FARA registration order.
"I doubt very much there will be any fuss. I don't think
the American Zionist Council is in any position to do so...the
Council has compromised its position."
OK'd by Robert F. Kennedy.

DOJ orders AZC to register
under FARA "...receipt of such funds from the American Section
of the Jewish Agency for Israel constitutes the Council an agent
of a foreign principal...the Council's registration is
requested."

AZC President Rabbi Irving Miller
response to DOJ "The request for registration
contained in your letter raises many questions of fact and of
relationships which first must be resolved by us before
compliance can be made. Therefore, it is requested that
you be good enough to grant us a delay of 120 days..."

DOJ draft file memo about
01/23/1963 DOJ
meeting with AZC head legal counsel
Simon H. Rifkind "...he had advised his client to discontinue
completely the agency relationship and cut off the receipt of
any additional funds...Mr. Lenvin pointed out specifically that
the termination of the 'activities' on the part of AZC did not
absolve it of its obligation to register..."

DOJ Executive Assistant Thomas
Hall memo to Nathan Lenvin updating meeting notes "Mr. Hall
emphasized that a contrary conclusion would not of course be
reached during the course of this meeting and suggested that the
subject submit a detailed argument as to why it was of the
opinion it should not be required to register...."

DOJ AZC January 23, 1963 meeting
notes by Nathan Lenvin filed "discontinuance of receipt of such
funds thus terminating the agency relationship did not absolve
the Council of its obligation to register."

American Council for
Judaism (AJC) newsletter. "The American Zionist Council
(coordinating political action arm of all U.S. Zionist
organizations) was asked last month by the Justice Department to
register as a 'foreign agent' of the State of Israel."

Nathan Lenvin file
memo of DOJ AZC meeting on April 1, 1963- AZC Memorandum
of Law rejected. "...if necessary I would be willing to
recommend, if the representatives of the Council insisted upon
these points, that the matter be litigated."

Nathan Lenvin
file
memo of DOJ AZC meeting on May 2, 1963 "Finally, Judge
Rifkind raised the point...that the vast number of Jews who
adhered to the principles of Zionism could not understand how
'our administration' could do such harm to the Zionist movement
and impair the effectiveness of the Council by insistence on
registration. He appealed to the discretionary power of
the Department...Mr. Katzenbach then noted that if the Council
made a full disclosure of the receipt and expenditure of the
funds it had received from the Jewish Agency so that such
information would then be available for public inspection the
purposes and objectives of the Registration Act might well be
accomplished and very likely there would be nothing further for
the Government to do..."

Wall Street Journal article "Federal lawyers
near decision on whether to require the American Zionist Council
to register as an agent of the Israeli government. High
Justice Department officials weigh the risk of offending Jewish
opinion in the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations
Chairman Fulbright also eyes the council's activities."

Irene Bowman FARA section file memo on a June 28,
1963 DOJ AZC meeting, "Mr. Adrian W. DeWind and a Mr. Kahn (ph)
of the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison ...for
the purpose of submitting for the Department's examination a
stack of publications and several books prepared by the American
Zionist Council....Prior to Mr. DeWind's departure he said he
was disturbed by what he described as the speed with which the
American Council on Judaism learned that the Department had
solicited the registration of the American Zionist Council.
He wondered whether there was a leak in the Department."

Thomas K. Hall Memo to
Deputy AG Katzenbach and J. Walter Yeagley on Wall Street Journal Article.
Yeagley notes "I called Judge Rifkind Thursday July 18. He
said he thought the material had been submitted and was
'embarrassed.' Fri[day] someone else from the firm called
asking for still another 2 or 3 weeks as their controller or
someone is in Europe."

J. Walter Yeagley responds to Rumsfeld
"ultimate determination will be based on the law as applied to
the facts...not on any consideration of its effect on the public
opinion of the Jewish community..."

American
Council for Judaism Letter to RFK about AZC FARA registration "I
am enclosing latest issue of our newsletter, Brief, featuring
our comments on the Department of Justice investigation of the
American Zionist Council..."

Thomas K. Hall
internal FARA memo about AZC
legal counsel "stalling hoping that time will resolve the
difficulties faced by the AZC...We should go
on record with the AG (copy to deputy) outlining the posture of
this matter and indicate the need for more drastic action..."

Irene Bowman, FARA section
analysis on alleged AZC FARA violations derived from Senate
Foreign Relations Committee hearings. "...the Department
should insist on the immediate registration of the American
Zionist Council under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, and
if such registration is not forthcoming, appropriate action
should be taken to enforce such a request."

J. Walter Yeagley to FBI Director
"..registration was originally solicited by letter dated
November 21, 1962...Pending a determination as to whether
further letter should be written insisting on registration no
investigation will be required. You will be kept advised
of developments in this matter."

J. Walter Yeagley notes of DOJ AZC meeting attended by Nicholas
Katzenbach. "Judge Rifkind then made a plea for no
registration, stating it was the opinion of most of the persons
affiliated with the Council that such registration would be so
publicized by the American Council on Judaism that it would
eventually destroy the Zionist movement...he did not believe his
clients would file any papers or sign any papers indicating that
the organization was an agent of a foreign principal. I
told him that any such information or material that is supplied
on that basis would be made part of the Department's public
files available for inspection by the public..."

Deputy AG Katzenbach letter to AZC counsel "The material you submitted is
much less useful than what I had expected you were going to
submit and of course there is no disclosure unless the data is
available for public inspection."

Nathan Lenvin meetings
with AZC counsel Rifkind "Judge Rifkind opened the meeting by
showing me a pamphlet distributed by the American Council for
Judaism which contained charges that Zionists were acting as
propaganda agents for the State of Israel...he was concerned
that any disclosure which were being made should not be such as
to substantiate these charges made by the American Council [for
Judaism]... Mr. Rothenberg made one caviat, that they would have
to be sure anything they submitted would not ultimately
prejudice the organization in the eyes of the public."

J. Walter Yeagley
letter to AZC counsel Rothenberg "the Department is not
concerned with the Council's expenditures in connection with
exempt activities such as Hebrew education and culture but
requests that the Council submit a statement detailing its other
expenditures and particularly those under the category of the
Department of Information and Public Relations..."

AZC counsel Rothenberg
letter to Lenvin - "You are familiar, I know, with the agreement
reached between Judge Rifkind and Mr. Katzenbach, in the
presence of Mr. Yeagley, with regard to additional information
to be furnished your Section. Such agreement was reached,
as I understand it, in the realization by Mr. Katzenbach that
with the present size of the staff of the Council it would be
indeed burdensome to furnish your department with itemization of
expenses of the past two years. A sample itemization was
therefore forwarded to you for a period of approximately three
months."

Assistant AG
Yeagley note to Deputy Attorney General Katzenbach "This is
the most blatant stall we have encountered. Do you mind
suggesting what we do next because all of us here would call their
records before a grand jury."

Assistant AG
Yeagley note to Katzenbach forwarding 3/16/1964 Rothenberg
inquiry "Here is tickler from Rothenberg about his March 16
letter on the American Zionist Council. Do you want me to
do something on this?"

Acting AG Katzenbach letter to
AZC counsel Rothenberg "While we have endeavored to make our
requests as reasonable as possible, we cannot accept your
suggestion since the information offered is not in compliance
with the Act or what we thought our understanding was with Judge
Rifkind."

Nathan Lenvin notes October
22, 1964 DOJ-AZC meeting - "Mr. Katzenbach had to excuse himself
shortly after the meeting commenced because of urgent business
elsewhere, but before he left he made clear to Mr. Rothenberg
that, in response to the latter's assertion that to submit all
of the financial information we had previously requested for a
two- to two-and-a-half year period would be a great burden on
the subject, we would accept a statement as to a typical three
month expenditure projected for the entire period concerned."
Assistant AG
Yeagley notes "They are to include the names for confid[ential]
info of the Dept.—not for public file."

Harry A. Steinberg, Executive Director AZC
cover letter
and filing to FARA section "There is
also enclosed herewith, in duplicate, a listing of persons who
have received funds as shown in the record of disbursements.
Mr. Rothenberg has requested of you that this listing be kept
separate and apart from the record of disbursements in any
public files in your Section."

Irene Bowman, FARA memo that AZC filing
is in "substantial compliance" Irene Bowman
handwritten note "I agree with the conclusion that the material
be accepted and put into form for public examination."

Irene Bowman, FARA retraction and list of AZC filing
inadequacies "While it appears possible to make up a
registration statement from documents furnished by a prospective
registrant, these documents should furnish all of the
information required by the Act to be stated in a registration
statement. The above material, none of which is executed
under oath, fails to provide the following information which is
material for the purpose of the Act...:"

Nathan Lenvin file
transfer to J. Walter Yeagley - "Attached hereto is the
entire file relating to the American Zionist Council and our
efforts to obtain its registration under the terms of the Foreign
Agents Registration Act...In her memorandum to Files, Mrs.
Bowman points out certain lacunae, which fail to establish all
of this material as meeting all of the requirements for
registration...we were well aware that no full and
complete registration statement in the ordinary sense would ever
be received...only alternative to a refusal to accept what
has been submitted as compliance with the Act would be to
institute prosecutive proceedings, which would be
impractical...no useful purpose would be served by including
these names in the material which would be made available for
public inspection."

Nathan Lenvin instruction
memo to Ulda Eldred, FARA section "The material filed by the
American Zionist Council (AZC) was filed in accordance with an
understanding between the Department and the AZC...If you should
receive inquiries as to whether the AZC is registered under the
Act, you should respond in the negative. You should
advise, however, that the AZC has filed information with this
Section which is available for public examination.

Nathan Lenvin / J. Walter
Yeagley notice to files - "...material of the
AZC was placed in an expandable
portfolio to distinguish it in appearance from the registration
statements which are filed in manila folders. In the event
Mrs. Eldred receives inquiries as to whether the AZC is
registered under the Act, she has been instructed to respond in
the negative."

J. Walter Yeagley Yeagley
requests closure of AZC case at the FBI
"the material does not comprise a registration statement but
does supply basic information regarding the activities of the
AZC financed in part by the Jewish Agency..."

05/17/1965 New York Times
article: AZC convenes a major meeting
at Jewish Agency New York headquarters "revising its program
to strengthen every phase of Jewish religious and cultural life in
this country....there should be no appeasement at the expense of
Israel."FARA section file copy,
reviewed by DOJ officials.